Our hearts need to be prepared for a move of God and the work of the Spirit in our lives. John the Baptist showed up to prepare people for a new movement, one that was marked by miracles, signs and wonders, and healing power. They begun by entering into a season of repentance and out of that they saw God move.
We live in a world that is profoundly divided. Jews and Arabs, North and South Korea, blacks and whites, Republicans and Democrats, etc. We have divisions within our own families and we ourselves lack inner peace. We have lots of human ways to find peace, tranquilizers, therapy, medication, etc. Ephesians 2 tells us that Christ is our peace. He's not just our peace, he came to make peace. He also preached peace. The text also tells us how we can discover peace.
We live in a world that is profoundly divided. Jews and Arabs, North and South Korea, blacks and whites, Republicans and Democrats, etc. We have divisions within our own families and we ourselves lack inner peace. We have lots of human ways to find peace, tranquilizers, therapy, medication, etc. Ephesians 2 tells us that Christ is our peace. He's not just our peace, he came to make peace. He also preached peace. The text also tellsus how we can discover peace.
We desire simplicity but find ourselves overwhelmed with an over-accumulation of things, or people, or media. So we watch more shows about minimalism, decluttering, and tidying up. We all want "clean" and "simple" in everything from the design of our coffee cups to our kitchen counters and even in our relationships. Yet real simplicity is elusive. This message will help us not only find simplicity on the outside, but simplicity that flows from the inside.
This message will teach people the practices of meditation & prayer as ways to recover rest and life. Prayer is more than making a list of needs, it is also deep listening and making space to declutter our hearts and minds and make space for God. This message will equip you to find life in God through meditation & prayer.
Scripture is full of demonstrations of blessing and the power of our words, and this 'priestly blessing' gives us a model from which to learn this practice ourselves... to speak intentional words of blessing over others in our life, to understand the spiritual power of our words, and to take seriously our ability to impact those around us by being blessing-givers.
Gathered to be empowered: When the followers of Jesus gathered together after the resurrection, they waited for and finally experienced the proximity and power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised and as the OT had pointed to. That empowerment led to an experience of prophetic worship and witness that gave birth to the world-wide, multi-ethnic, confessing church that is still gathering and growing today.
Nehemiah moves from the rebuilding of the wall to the rebuilding of God's people. We see in chapters 9 & 10 a pattern of confession, worship, recommitment and renewal of the people of God. When we commit ourselves seriously to our identity-defining relationship with God and with the church, we experience His reviving presence.
We are taking a break from Nehemiah to celebrate every single one of our students... especially those who are moving up a significant milestone at school. We'll speak practically to students of all ages and encourage them that they can be confident in the work God is doing in and throught them as they grow into the people God has called them to be.
Today we'll celebrate Mother's Day by reflecting on the lesson in Nehemiah that the work of rebuilding requires diligence, and effort against outside (and sometimes internal) opposition. Families today are under tremendous pressure, parents are under-resourced and over-burdened, and kids right now have had their futures thrown upside down after 2020.
As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work. Nehemiah is a great picture of how the body of Christ is meant to function: each one of us using our gifts and skills to build together. Frederick Buechner once said: "the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Chapter 3 illustrates for us how each part of the community partnered with one another to rebuild the wall. We're called to partner with Christ to heal the hungering world around us. In this message, we'll call folks to the task at hand, and invite people to partner with Christ to heal the world.
En la capilla (Chapel) de la Iglesia Vineyard Columbus Estacionamiento Norte
Domingos a las 11am
